The Teen Health Revolution
28 Mar 2026 · 44 min
In this episode of Flipping 50: The Stronger Way, host Debra Atkinson interviews four young co‑hosts of The Holistic Kids Show—Abdullah (18), Zayn (15), Imaad (12) and Qasim Anasari (10). The conversation covers how the youth‑run podcast and their traditionally published bestseller, The Teen Health Revolution: Lifestyle Secrets to Optimize Your Mind, Body, and Soul, came into being, driven by their mother’s health journey and a desire to give teens practical, science‑backed health guidance. The guests outline the alarming state of teen health in the United States, citing CDC statistics on pre‑diabetes, ADHD, depression, anxiety, and suicide ideation, and describe how conventional medicine often failed them. They introduce the “REVOLUTION” acronym (Revolutionize the gut, Eat real food, Vanquish toxins, Optimize stress, Love nature, Tech limits, Invest in cities, Optimize open society, Navigate decisions) as a simple framework for teens to improve gut health, reduce toxin exposure, manage stress, and foster mindfulness. The dialogue delves into the importance of the gut microbiome for immunity and brain chemistry, the pervasive stressors of school, social media, and constant stimulation, and offers concrete coping tools: breathing exercises, time‑management, outdoor time, regular movement, gratitude journaling, and limiting screen use. They stress the role of adults—parents, grandparents, teachers—in listening without judgment, modeling healthy habits, and providing opportunities for nature and movement. The episode also includes a sponsorship plug for Qualia Stem Cell, mentions the podcast’s reach (200+ episodes, top 2% of podcasts globally, appearances at major functional‑medicine conferences), and provides information on where listeners can find the show and the book.
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Hey everybody, it's Debra Atkinson, host of the Flipping 50: The Stronger Way show. And this is a very special episode. As you know, you are listening most likely because you are a woman going through some stage of menopause or preparing to, and you are both concerned about menopausing the best possible way with the fewest symptoms. And you also want to preserve your muscle and your bone density and brain health for your best, most optimal the next 30 to 40 years, AKA your longevity. But this one is about the fact that really is our mission statement at Flipping 50. There is no more powerful health influencer in the world than a midlife woman. So that is you, my friend. So no pressure, but then again, pressure. This episode is for all parents, all grandparents, all caring great aunts, and those of you who influence anybody younger. So I urge you or encourage you to share this one in your own way, maybe with others who along with you influence and with your adult children who may have teens. And we are such a diverse group of women here that, you know, a woman who's 40, who's 50 or mid-50s could have teenagers still at home, a woman who's 60 still could. And so we're not gonna put any limits or boundaries on whether you have children or you have grandchildren that this this is more pertinent to. And if you, like me, are in the window in between, this is the time to listen and to realize, number one, maybe a little insight to even how our adult children, in my case, mine is 31, and theirs, and my new and first grandson is 6 months old. But this gives us some insight, and I'm already seeing it, and I'm sure you are too, in the way screens are in their lives or not. So this episode, I will be joined by 4 very good-looking gentlemen between the ages of 10 and 18 who are doing some pretty amazing things in the world, including a TEDx Talk, guesting on national TV, and into the almost 200, I believe, podcast episodes in this past year after publishing a book. Now they're up to something and they're making a difference. At the very least, they're making a ripple. And with your help and with mine, it can get bigger. So a long introduction and very well deserved. I hope you stick around and I hope that you share this one. All right, as one who cannot keep a secret, and why would I in the case here where it's such great news? So in the very introduction, I let you know what we were up to today. I have 4 young men who are here and they are on a mission between the ages of 18 and 10. And let me give you their names so I give credit where credit is due: Abdullah, is 18, Zayn is 14, Imaad is 12, and Qasim Anasari— and yes, they tested me here— is 10. And they are the hosts of the Holistic Kids Podcast. They are national speakers, co-authors of the best-selling traditionally published book. Now, I hope you heard that and it didn't slip by you, but I'm calling it out. Traditional means a publisher, like a national publisher said, we want to publish that book. There are a lot of people who self-publish books, no discounting that. I've done that myself as well as traditional publishers, but being recognized by someone like Putnam or Random House, that's a big deal, friends. So it is called The Teen Health Revolution. Lifestyle secrets to optimize your body, mind, or your mind, body, and soul. So it is dedicated directly to the teen. As passionate advocates for youth empowerment, the kids host The Holistic Kids Show, a groundbreaking kid-run podcast with over 200 episodes featuring expert leaders, including New York Times bestselling authors, Harvard professors, top physicians, actors, and national media figures. This podcast ranks top 2% of all podcasts globally. Did you hear that? Okay. As the first youth speakers at major integrative and functional medicine conferences, including the International Institute of Functional Medicine 2024, A4M 2025, FDN 2026. And I know this is a lot of alphabet soup, But if you don't know, these are a big deal. And the Health Business Growth Collective Summit 2025, they have inspired audiences nationwide from the Nourished Festival to Moz Inc. And were honored with the 2025 Up and Comer Award from the Health Business Growth Collective. Their media presence includes appearances on TV, NBC, CBS, and Zane's TEDx talk in February of '26. Remember, Zane is 14. Abdullah was featured in the docuseries Young and Thriving as a young voice for mental health, bringing a unique perspective of today's youth into the conversation. The Holistic Kids have been featured across leading podcasts and publications, including Wellness Mama, Kathy Heller Podcast, To Your Good Health, Just Ingredients, Extend with Dr. Darshan Shah, Wendy Myers Podcast, Biohack Yourself Media, and hundreds more. And now including Flipping 50 the Stronger Way. I cannot wait. And there were so many ways that we could go, so many directions. I am so excited to bring them aboard. Welcome, you guys. Thank you so much for being here. So was this a school day for you?
Yes, we just came back from school.
Okay, so you taught them something or you learned something? Which, which way did it go?
A little bit of both.
Okay, so good. So before I dive into too many questions, I really want to know, how did this all roll out for you? Did this just happen organically, like you were really interested in this, or did you— were you following somebody else who was doing this and you're like, I think we could do this, this is a problem. How did this happen?
So yeah, I mean, first of all, our parents, our aunts or uncles or grandparents, they're all medical doctors and they were all raised in this conventional, conventional medical style. So both of our parents were doctors, but when we were sick, no one knew what was going on. And that's what like I dealt with mood disorders and anger issues.
And that's why the thing is that we tried to get help from conventional medicine, but it didn't help. I had like broken brain, you know, lots of dizziness. I couldn't walk straight and conventional medicine didn't help me. Any mods?
Yeah, I had sinus issues.
And through then, you know, lifestyle and our mom teaching us how to eat properly, how to live properly, that is what actually helped instead of taking tons of medications because we were trying this doctor, trying this, and yet nothing was helping us. So that's where we first started to get into it. Then our mom, our amazing mother, she's the one that really started all this. So all the credit goes to her because she's the one who educated herself and she was able to educate us on what to eat. We saw her going through lupus and Hashimoto's and healing through all of that.
That is.
Yeah.
And during the pandemic, it was actually when we started taking a little bit of charge in like the, in the kids outside because we realized our mom, everyone, what we've been learning, all of that stuff, so much other people and especially kids being the ones mainly neglected on health could really use all this information. So we started our podcast and we interview hundreds of New York Times bestselling authors and world-renowned experts on our podcast. And then we took that information and we turned it into a book. And that's where the book comes from because it's supported by all these world-renowned experts, but we're putting it through a kid's point of view so it's easier for kids to understand. So I think it's, it was all about us understanding our own problems, learning from it, and now trying to teach others.
Yeah, that's because we saw our classmates, our peers, our friends at school dealing with so many issues that we knew they didn't have to deal with if they started to fix their lifestyle. And so we wanted to come out with this book, come out with this podcast to give people hope and help them educate themselves. Because let's be honest, as teens, we hate listening to adults. Let's just be honest here. And so we decided, you know what, let's do teens to teens. If you're not going to listen to adults, let us tell you what we did. And that's 5, 6 years later, that's what we've been doing.
That is amazing. I love it. I'm going to ask you a question that I'm kind of embarrassed that I don't know the answer to, but I'm going to ask. So what is the state of teens' health today in this modern contemporary world we live in? What's the state of the union?
So right now, I mean, you know, 1 in 2 kids have at least 1 persistent health condition. CDC says that 1 in 3 teens have prediabetes. 1 in 10 kids have ADHD or behavioral problems, and 3/4 of adolescents experience depression or anxiety. And even worse, 1 in 3 teen girls have seriously thought of committing suicide. So this isn't normal. I know my mom was telling me how she was— in her generation, these were unheard of. The fact that so many people have depression, anxiety, have health issues. And now, honestly, we go to school, you have a health issue? Oh, that's normal. You have ADHD? Oh, a lot of people have that nowadays. That's not how things are supposed to be. And that's why we need to create change. We want to create change. And even though there's so much going wrong, there's also so much that can be going right.
And like, especially in our schools, we can see it personally. All these statistics might say something, but when we're at our schools, when we're outside, we can see it. Like, an example might be like the building that I'm in. I'm a freshman in high school, and that building is actually being turned into a special needs building because there's so much of them now.
Wow.
In the area. So it's like, it's an entire building. And I just feel like that was so— that's crazy.
And that's why we realize that these statistics aren't getting better. They're actually continuing to increase, increase, and increase. I mean, you know, ADHD is still on a rise. Autism is still on a rise. Where is this next generation going to go if most of us are autistic, you know, dealing with ADHD, dealing with mental health issues? That's how are we ever going to achieve anything and create a better world in the future? And that's why, you know, things need to be done now.
Yeah, I totally agree. So you're out there, like, literally, you guys are on the front lines. You're, you're in there and in the classrooms, and you guys have adopted all these habits and health, and, you know, you know what you're doing, and you know why you can connect the dots. How hard is it though, like at school or at parties and your friends where you're maybe going swimming upstream, everybody else is kind of eating in a different way and they're kind of falling victim of following someone who's maybe not going on the right path. How hard is it, number one, for you, but do you see kids who do want to follow you, but it's just so hard?
And, um, I don't feel like bad that I'm not eating it. I feel like they should like, um, that I feel like if they're, um, I think Augustine was trying to say is that like, yeah, sorry, we're fasting.
So like, I feel like they're gonna— because again, they're gonna be the ones getting like hurt. They're the ones gonna be getting sick. Yeah, like, it's not my fault that they did. Yeah, like, if they insulted me, it wouldn't make sense.
Yeah, that's like we say that, you know, why should we feel bad when they're the ones that are eating poison? We're trying to take care of our bodies. We're trying— we're thinking about our future. And so basically they're just eating a bunch of colorful garbage. That's how we say— we don't even see it as real food anymore.
Yeah, that's really powerful. Do you find though that there are people who seem to want to listen but they still kind of fall down that rabbit hole because class with their friends or maybe even their family at home are eating in this way that's contributing to them not feeling good?
Definitely. I feel like most of the kids at my school, if not the, like, almost all, want to become healthier. I mean, it just kind of makes sense, but a lot of them don't know where to start. They might feel it's impossible or if the foods and the habits don't exist, or maybe if they're actually going to be called weird from some people. But I can tell them that, you know what, like there's already a model here myself and I'm doing it and I feel like anyone else can do it if I'm doing it. Because it's very easy to find, let's say, uh, it's very easy to break those habits. I mean, maybe for some people it's a little difficult, but you, all you need to do is just break those habits and change where you're going.
And, and plus, let's be, let's be completely realistic here. It's hard to stop eating Cheetos and McDonald's. It's hard to do all that kind of stuff. It took us 10 years. And so we don't ever expect people, oh, overnight that they're just going to completely change. And so that's why we decided that as long as they start thinking about it, that's the best thing that can happen. And so for our friends and our peers that are all, they're trying Honestly, that's the best thing that they can do.
Yeah, love that. Love that so much. Okay, the name, the original title of the name, The Teen Health Revolution, and then you have a subtitle, Lifestyle Secrets to Optimize Your Mind, Body, and Soul. What does revolution stand for?
Yeah, so we—
so I So we'll go through the acronym to make it simple. But we have R, revolutionize the gut.
E, eat real food.
V, vanquish toxins. O, optimize stress management. L, love nature.
Yeah, L. U. Yeah, U. I don't know. I don't know.
It's one of those days.
T, Tech Limits.
I, Invest in Cities. O, Optimize Open Society and Fairness.
And N, Navigate Your Decisions with Mindfulness.
But basically what we're trying to get at here was that, you know, trying to— that we, the teens, can use a simple revolution acronym to educate themselves and implement the key principles into their lives. And so with expert-backed lifestyle tips that anybody can use that they can improve their mind, body, and soul. And that's what we're trying to get because it's so simple, yet most teens don't know. Trust me, when people say, oh, you know, why aren't teens healthy? Why aren't they doing this? Why don't they do that? Like, do you think teens don't want to be sick? We don't want to be sick. We want to be healthy. We don't want to live into our adulthood having to worry about chronic disease, having to worry about, you know, our different problems problems when we wake up in the morning. We want to be healthy and we want to be thriving. And that's why we just need to be given the tools so that we're able to achieve that. Because the reality is most teens just don't know.
Great point. Tell me something, and I think for every listener in my audience, they're all women, they're all almost moms or grandmas or they're great aunts. And I mean really, really good, great aunts. But they all know that gut health is a big deal for them because midlife, it kind of changes again and their gut becomes problematic. But how important is gut microbiome to the way kids are feeling and to their brain health?
I mean, let's just start off with 70% of the immune system is in the gut. And trillions of gut bugs help with immunity, digestion, and make neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, and melatonin. So off the bat, that's like so much that the gut is trying to do. But a lot of kids and teens aren't really focusing on their gut. They don't even know what the gut is. Sure, maybe they've heard it, but they don't even know what it is, and they don't actually know what's affecting it, what's helping it, and what's not.
And so what we need to start teaching them is that, you know, diversity in food is going to tremendously help your gut. You know, even, you know, avoiding toxic personal care products, going outside into nature, exercising, you know, not over-sanitizing your home, even just drinking more water. And it's so simple that anybody can do it and it's all basically free.
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So first of all, food, I think, because like GMOs, GMOs, GMOs are everywhere.
They're in all the— even if you go to the supermarket, all these fresh foods, they're filled with GMOs and it's everywhere. And teens and kids don't even know where it is. Like, they don't know how to— how, how you can get rid of these GMOs. And like and they're kind of just ingrained inside the food, making it even harder.
And, and that's why I think one of the biggest things that any teen can start to do is to read labels, because it's not like we're trying to poison into our body. Yeah, we want to— like, teens can easily, you know, turn it over. Look, okay, what is it? You know, these— what are phthalates like? Like these phthalates or these— you look at like UV filters and look at, you know, what's inside their medic— their— and like the food preservatives, with pesticides, with, you know, plastics, with microplastics. So much that, you know, if we just start looking at labels, we could start making better decisions for our future. And that's why we're trying to tell more people, you know, it's so easy, yet we're just blindly following whatever people are telling us. Oh, you just eat this? Oh, we can eat this. Put this on your skin? Oh, I put this on my skin. With advertising as well, we're not We're just, you know, oh, this celebrity says to put this cream and it's gonna be magic, like this magical cream that's gonna make my skin better. Like we're not actually thinking for ourselves anymore.
That is such a great point. Such a great point. Talk to me about stress. I know, and it seems really funny. So I'm 62 practically, and you know, I couldn't tell you what's stressful for you. What's a stressful thing at school or during your day or for most of your friends, what causes them stress, what would you say?
School.
Probably school.
School in general.
School in general. Teachers or just school?
School, homework.
Tests.
Yeah. So, but negativity is everywhere. It's not just that maybe school that might be affecting teens. It's also what we're seeing online constantly on our phones, constantly seeing how like maybe like how, how worse we are and how much better someone else is. And then we go to the news where, where our parents are watching, and there's like constant like killing and murder, and it's just so gruesome. And it kind of feels like teens in the world— it kind of makes teens feel like that, you know what, that their world is slowly falling apart, or they're not worth enough, and And I think it really stresses out like a lot of teens, like this negativity and stuff.
And then honestly, like even we look at, I'm going to call it TikTok. You go through this short, oh, there's this happening in Ukraine. You go to this, there's this happening across the world, this happening here, this happening there. And then we go into Facebook and Instagram and even like, you know, social media. And there's even more stress because then you have people showing their dream life. And then you look at yourself, you know, I know, especially when I was in like, when I was a junior, everyone was saying, oh, I got this. I'm doing this. I have this extracurricular. I have this. I got— I'm getting into this college. I'm doing this. And people just feel like I'm not doing enough, which, you know, just freaks out the entire body. Like, I have to start doing something. And some teens, we're not giving the tools to even handle that stress.
Great point. Okay. So let's say this. We know, you fill this in, there's a lot of stressors out there, and you probably feel more stress than we know, than maybe even parents are realizing because parents are dealing with their own busy lives and their stress. Stress and just the day-to-day of a busy schedule. And maybe grandparents are in the same boat. So knowing that, if we're talking to grandparents or parents, what would be a way that they could help kids relieve stress? What would be things they might say to them or opportunities they might present them with that would help you deal with stress?
So I think to teach children like how to like like breathe before this, before the stress, like, like, so then you know what to do when you're stressed. But like, don't teach them when they're stressed.
Good point, really good point.
And also, I think time management is a really big one, and especially now I realize in high school it works so much more differently. And I feel like also when we talked about school, teens don't really know how to manage all of these different types of things that they might feel stressed about. So when we can do time management, when we can manage our time, and we can figure out what we need to do first, and put like away any distractions or a phone, and also like setting these goals can all really help de-stress or prevent large-scale stress.
What I also kind of think is because now in this new generation, less teens are going outside, less teens are playing. So I would say is Like a nice stressor would be to go outside in nature, spending time, spending some time in nature can actually relieve stress and lower inflammation. Like young, like youth mental health and like the urban environments might be hard to maybe get outside. But like, we do it during winter. So like, at least try even if it's like 1 minute a day, 1 minute a day, 5 minutes a day, just get out.
Great. How about you? Anything else?
Honestly, I mean, I love going to the gym, exercising, going on runs, going on walks, even just going outside, taking a deep breath of air. Just because obviously our mom taught us exercise helps reduce stress and anxiety, help improve cardiovascular health, enhance even your sleep quality, which teens suck at sleeping. So even just getting that extra benefit in our sleep is is so beneficial. It even helps boost my concentration and academic performance. It's like I realize when I go and I go on a walk or I do exercise, I actually realize that I do better throughout the day when it comes to performance, like tests and just in general. And so plus not even when it helps the brain, but also then strengthens the immune system. It's just so beneficial and it's so easy to do. Like, I remember I used to go in at 6 AM in the morning or right before I go to school, just, you know, go on a quick run, maybe just up and down the block. I remember maybe after school going and going for a bike ride. Simple things that anybody can do and just get so much benefit. And I think it took me what, like 15 minutes a day? So not that hard.
Yeah. Love that. Love that. And so just everybody listening, you know, I love what they just said. I think we all had a short conversation last summer at a summit, and I said, you know, motion or movement, exercise, sport, whatever it is, helps move emotion through you. And, you know, the stressor can still be there, but you at least feel like you could deal with it a little bit better. So I love that. And so adults listening, I know I'm preaching to the choir for you, but realize kids are probably not moving as much as you did when you were a kid. And we have to remember that we might need to present them with opportunities to be active with you. So I would really love to ask you this because you alluded to the fact, you know, it's so easy right now. We all do it in our own age group. We compare ourselves to some influencer who is— looks anyway— skinnier, smarter, richer, something more than we are, and then we are done. And we don't feel very good and we can't quite even realize why. But how often do you guys, or maybe what you see at school among peers and friends, have actual time when you don't have an activity, when you're not in a sport, you're not at school, and you just have nothing time without a phone? I mean, how important is that and does it even exist?
Yeah, boredom is so important.
And but the thing is that a lot of teens are really scared of boredom. They can't deal with it. It's really uncomfortable to them. And I find that kind of crazy. It's like they can't not do anything anymore. Like they have to always be either they're picking something up or they're like writing something or they're scrolling. They have to always do something. And I always wondered, why is it? Well, it's because these companies have hijacked our brains, making us constantly stimulated. So now when we're not stimulated with this dopamine and like oxytocin, then we're going to really want that dopamine, oxytocin. We're gonna go crazy. And that's what you see in a lot of even actually little babies. Like you see, once you give them a phone, you take it away, they they go crazy. And especially when it comes to shorts and stuff. And we've definitely noticed that with our younger toddler brother.
And also, plus, I know in my high school, I remember we were all sitting in the classroom, and as soon as there's nothing for someone to do, they go on their phone. Or as soon as they get uncomfortable and they're in a group with other people, instead of talking to other people in the group, you know what? I don't want to make eye contact. I just want to go on my phone. It's like we can't even make eye contact with people anymore. And that's why we also want to tell adults as well, please also just get off your phone sometimes. It's not only beneficial for teens, but it's so beneficial for adults as well because it then causes more inflammation to your body. It causes inflammation to your brain. It causes problems, like I said, mentally, physically, spiritually, emotionally. And we don't even know why. And then after it happens, we don't even know why. It's because we just cannot put down our phone.
And boredom, like when you're bored, you figure out what you want to do and like figure it out in the future.
Let's say like boredom equals purpose. All these amazing ideas and all the deepest thoughts happen when you're bored.
Creativity.
At nighttime when you're sleeping, like when you're trying to go to sleep, all those deep thoughts come out compared to when you're at your phone, you're constantly looking at someone else's thing. You're overstimulating yourself. You can't think for yourself. Instead, you're thinking about what the company wants you to think about.
That is so good. Okay, so I have to ask. So we have between— we have 10, 12, 14, and 18. Did I get that right? Yes.
Just turned 15.
Just turned 15. Well, you ruined my bio. Okay, I'm just kidding. So just listeners, so do you all have phones?
No.
So I got mine when I was 16.
Okay. I love your mother so much.
And they don't have phones.
Yeah. I, I'm 15. I don't have one.
Okay. I love it. Yeah.
But we all don't have social media because we know how terrible it is, you know, for our mental health and for our physical health.
Yeah. So do you get on? Do you have knowledge of it? Do you see it on your parents' phone so you know like, what are people even talking about?
Yeah, actually, we have— we know a good amount about what's happening in the world, which is something that people think that, you know, we live under a rock because we don't go on social media, when in reality we actually then also have more time to explore what's going on in our actual life. Yes. Not focusing on what's happening like thousands of miles away. Instead, we can focus on what am I going to do today? What am I going to— how am I going to improve today? How am I going to do this? Which is honestly probably more productive in the long run.
Yeah, totally agree. And being on social media, people are using that like CNN. They're using it like it's their news, and this is adults that are doing that. People will say to me, but social media tells us to do XYZ. I said, what? Social media doesn't have a mother or a degree. What are you talking about? So, all right. Talk to me about gratitude. So you mentioned that in Revolution, and where does that come in? And tell me something. So all of you, what are you grateful for?
I mean, there's, there's way too much to be like, like to say what I'm thankful for, because if I spend, if I say everything I'm thankful for, then we're just gonna be here for days. Okay.
Well, there's not like We can't be thankful enough, basically.
Great. Well said. Do you see that in action and operation around you with other kids? Are they grateful?
Teens are pretty negative.
Very.
Kids are okay.
Yeah, but like, I think—
They don't have phones and stuff.
Yeah, like there's so much like negativity in the world like now because of people just go on their phone. Phones, like what I was talking about. You compare yourself to like other people. It's like there's just getting more and more negative. It's like we really see people.
Do you think that lack of gratitude is maybe about something? I'm gonna, I'm gonna do a really poor job at asking a question. I'm gonna plant a seed. But do you think it's more about fear, or you know, that a lack of gratitude is, you know, it's not seen because there's so much fear, or, you know, I guess fear is the best word. But say, say a little bit about that. How does that land with you?
I think that there's a lot to— for teens nowadays, we're kind of scared to open up. We're kind of scared to then let ourselves, you know, be like, okay, I am grateful for this, I am grateful for that, I do like this actually. And I know it varies per person, but I know some people who they don't want to be grateful because it's like cringy or cheesy. Like, oh no, I don't want to be grateful because then that's like too positive. So I guess there's that kind of aspect. But I mean, as teens, we are the most negative people I've ever met. Like, I hate school, I hate my homework, I hate my days, I hate that. And so many people can benefit because actually even gratitude it switches that subconscious from negative to positive. And when we're able to do that, we're able to do so much. Like most successful people, I'm pretty sure not many successful people are successful from being negative all the time. And so we can really become better. And once we're able to change our perspective, I mean, like my mom used to tell me, your perspective can be either your power or your pain. And so that's what I've carried now into my life, into now even college, where it's Instead of saying, "Oh, I hate this. I can't believe this happened. This is so bad." I can say, "At least this happened," or "At least I have this." And so really, I think that there's at least one thing that anybody can do, teen, adult, that we've been doing since our moms started teaching us about gratitude was when you wake up in the morning, say at least 10 things that you're grateful for. For. If you can't do 10, do 3. You can't even do 3, if that's too much, try 1 thing you were grateful for. And that's what we've been doing since I think I was like, what, 9? And probably Qasim since he was born. And since we're all so young and now we're taking it all into adulthood.
And actually at my school, like on Tuesdays, every day we We do gratitude journals.
Very cool.
We write what we're grateful for in that prompt.
Beautiful. What's the importance of the people that you're surrounded with, both in terms of you guys, the people that you're surrounded with and the impact they've had for you to You're doing pretty big things, guys. I mean, you're really making a difference. But also for the people that you see, the kids and teens that you see at school and in your environment, what's the importance of the kinds of people that you're around?
I mean, who— like, like we always say, the people around, like the 5 people around you basically dictate like who you are. And just like when we talk about how when you hang out with smokers, you end up smelling like smoke. It's the same thing with even our brain. When you do, when you hang out with people who do like bad habits, our brain unconsciously starts also, you know, and like taking those bad habits. And so it's, it's so important to choose who we surround ourselves with.
Really well said. All right. What are your top tips if you had to rifle through them, your top tips for teens? Somebody is a parent or a grandparent and they're listening right now and maybe thinking about, how could I help my teen or my preteen become a stronger, more vital teen? What would that be?
Honestly, please, adults, grandparents, if you're listening, When you listen to us, listen to learn. Don't listen to reply. Because sometimes as teens, we just want to talk. Sometimes when we talk to our parents, we talk to someone older than us, all they're going to do is tell us, "Don't do this, do this, do that." Sometimes we don't want that. We just want someone to be there for us, someone to listen to us. So next time a teen or somebody talks to you, don't immediately think of responding. Think sometimes, just listen.
Great tip.
Teach your teens to be mindful and to understand mindfulness and to understand their surroundings. But don't let everything else like your future, your past influence your present. Make your present your present and make it like away from the future and the past. Because when you can really be truly fully present, that is when your greatest thoughts happen.
And in case mine is, um, nature, because you, uh, nature can like do like a lot, like, um, lower inflammation, boost detoxification, and much more.
So like, and, um, And that's why, you know, nature is so important. I mean, what our mom did was every— like, even if we complain and we go, oh, we don't— I don't want to go outside nature today, I don't do this. Every single week we try to go at least for 30 minutes outside. And at first when she started doing this, we were like, Mom, but we have this, we have that. So if your children complain about, oh, I don't want to go into nature, I don't want to do this, schedule it. Well, my mom was like, okay, On Wednesday after school for half an hour, we're just gonna go walk in the park. We're just gonna go, you know, hug some trees, go touch the ground, basically anything just for half an hour a week.
So good. Okay, so what makes you happy? Each of you, what do you like to do if you just get to choose? Here's your time, your boredom time with no cell phone. What do you like to do? What makes you happy?
I like doing sports and like getting outside and like running and stuff for like fun because, um, it calms me down and stuff.
Yeah, I like either it's drawing or it's painting, or I like making like maps. I think that's like very, uh, relaxing for me.
Sweet.
Um, I have a combination. I like to do either Rubik's Cube or just like maybe just practice some sports sometimes.
Great.
Probably when I have— do have free time in college, I'll clean, I'll like, you know, kind of tidy up, I'll read, I'll, you know, do whatever I need to do, basically.
Very cool. Tell me a little bit about your podcast and where people can find that and how frequently do you release new episodes?
So you can find our podcast on theholistickidsshow.com, that we have a website and then You can find our podcast on Spotify, iTunes, really any podcast area.
Yeah. And we interview experts that are world-renowned, either as Harvard professors, it's all these smartest, smartest people, the best of the best. And we interview them on our podcast. And then the podcast is released usually like every week there's a podcast release. Sometimes it's either it's more, sometimes it might might be less. We're not perfect, but definitely we, we keep it, we keep it going, and there's always something new about it. So definitely check that out.
And also, we took all the information from the 200+ experts on the podcast and turned into the Teen Health Revolution, our book, where you can find on Amazon. It is a bestseller. That's it.
Definitely go check that out.
So awesome. All right, everybody, you can find them at the Holistic Holistic Kids Show. The Teen Health Revolution is the name of the book, and it's Holistic Kids Show everywhere on social media and podcast platforms. So it's really easy. We will have all the links in the show notes. Guys, I hate to let you go. It's been so much fun. Thanks for joining me here.
It's really been our pleasure. We really can't thank you enough for having us on here today.
Definitely.
Thank you.
Go get them. Keep it up.
